I opened my mouth and breathed in Lenobia's scent. I followed her scent trail. Fledglings stopped and pointed at me. I ignored them, even though I was really, really tempted to talk in front of them. I doubt Lenobia or Erik had made it known to the masses that I was stuck as a panther.

Snap padded beside me (now that I think it about it we probably look like a mama big cat and her baby).

Lenobia's scent trail led me into the infirmary. My ears folded back nervously. Last time I was here Neferet locked me in one of the rooms.

I followed Lenobia's scent and it was joined by two scents, one I recognized and one I hadn't smelled before.

I padded into the room.

Dallas had a come apart.

"Shit! There's a fucking panther." He almost screamed. He put his body in front of Stevie Rae's like he was attempting to protect her from me.

"I'm not a fucking panther." His mouth dropped. "I'm just a freaky panther."

"Ra-Raven?" He stammered.

"Who else would manage to get herself changed into a panther and not know how to get changed back?" I said.

"Ray, Lenobia said you…" Stevie Rae swallowed. "Astral projected and saw Heath being killed by Kalona and Zoey's soul shatter."

I nodded. I looked Lenobia. "I'm going to Italy."

Lenobia looked weary. "Raven she can't-"

"I am half-immortal." I said. Power radiated from my voice. Lenobia's eyes widened slightly. "I bet you the shattered souls before have never had a half-breed willing to help."

Snap curled her tail neatly around her paws and stared levelly at Lenobia.

"Ask Hecate." I said. "I bet she'll vouch for me that I can help."

I got the feeling by the look on Lenobia's face that she was going to let me go, but to only prove to me that I couldn't help.

"I guess now that you're…not human looking, a passport will be less of a hurdle." She said quietly. "I'll call the House of Night's pilot." And then she left.

"Raven, do you really think that you can help Zoey?" Stevie Rae said.

I looked at her. "I think I'd rather go to Italy and fail miserably rather than stay here, accepting that she might not come back, and find out that there was something I could have done.

Her blue eyes seemed to reflect my determination right back at me. We both weren't going to give up Zoey that easily.

"Get out Dallas, I need to get dressed." Stevie Rae said.

I decided now would be my time to leave. I like Stevie Rae and all, but I'm not about to see this girl naked.

I turned to leave and saw Dragon standing near the doorway. His tattoo made it easy to remember his name. He looked sad and…old. I remember the last time I had seen him he was distracting the Raven Mockers so we could escape. What happened? What did I miss now?

"Dragon?" I asked. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing you can help me with Raven." He said.

My tail twitched at the dismissive tone in his voice. How did he know I couldn't help him?

"I heard you say you're going to try to bring Zoey back."

"I am." I said in a stubborn, determined tone.

"I fear your efforts may be in vain." He said.

"My life, my efforts." I said. "I'll do what I want and what I think is right."

"You are young Raven and have not suffered a great loss."

I flinched. "Yes I have." I said in a raspy voice. Maybe that's why I wasn't willing to give up on Zoey. I didn't want to lose a new friend right on top of losing my parents.

"I heard you were adopted-"

"My birth parents gave me up." I said cutting him off. "My adoptive parents were killed while I was gone." I expected a big cry fest at this, but I wasn't too upset. It seemed…natural. I wondered if because I was a beast I had limited emotions even though I kept my human conscious.

"I apologize. I assumed too much." He said.

I felt a small tug of a smile. "My dad use to say that assuming was a bad, nasty habit I should never get into."

His mouth quirked like he was trying to smile. "I must depart Raven. Good luck." He placed his fist over his heart and left.

"Raven." Snap said softly. "I am going to remain here."

I looked at her. "What?"

"I'll just be in the way, not to mention people will question why a house cat is hanging around a panther. It needs to be kept on the down low that you can shape shift since it is a rare gift."

"What other powers do I need to keep a secret?" I asked.

She looked at me with scolding eyes. "Wielding darkness is nothing to be ashamed of."

I snorted. "Says you, but everyone else I've met thinks its evil, period."

"You are proof that it's not true that those who wield darkness are not automatically evil."

I sighed. I wasn't too bugged out about me being able to wield darkness right now, there was something else bugging me.

"If good can wield darkness, than can evil wield light?" I asked.

"Darkness and light are elements and can be summoned or used by any being who has the power."

"Great." I thought. "Why do I have a feeling that evil is going to rear its ugly head real soon?"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

I think I'm going to write and complain about the way people transfer animals on planes.

Sure it would have been easy to explain to the vampyre pilot that I was a shape shifter and then I wouldn't have to be stuck in a crate, strapped down in the cargo hold of the plane, but I was going to be "delivered" to the hotel room the others were staying in.

Just the thought of me being delivered somewhere was making my tail flick and my lip curl.

"What the hell is in there?"

My ears flicked. I had been napping on and off during the whole (I was stuck in the cargo hold, there's not much else to do) and now I realized we had landed in Venice.

"Some kind of big cat." I saw a man trying to peer into the box through the air slits.

Well, I was bored so this complete justifies what I'm about to do.

I growled low in my throat and shot out my paw with a snarl. My claws jutted out of the slit. The man yelped and scrambled back cursing in Italian.

I chuckled low in my throat. He shouldn't have peeked in here anyway. I could have been naked for all he knew. Wait, I am naked. Never thought I would become a nudist.

The men chittered nervously, trying to figure out how to transfer a grumpy panther. (And I need to frickin' pee!)

Eventually they moved me into a boat and drove me, or boated or what do you call the boat movement? Anyway, I got to the hotel and they used an employee elevator to get me up to the room.

"I thought vampyres only had house cats?"

"I hate exotic pet owners. I wouldn't be too surprised if we see this feline on the news later because he killed his owner."

I grumbled. I was really tempted to inform their pea brains that I was female thank you very much and I wasn't going to kill my owner, personally I don't think vampyres or humans look really appetizing.

They knocked on a door.

"Yeah?" A male voice said. I instantly recognized it as Stark's.

"We have a delivery for a Miss Aphrodite LaFont."

I'm being delivered to Aphrodite? Great.

"Delivery? I haven't ordered anything." Aphrodite's voice said.

"It's from the Tulsa House of Night." The man said.

"Did you send for your shoes or something?" Stark asked sounding irritated.

"I swear I haven't ordered anything." Aphrodite said.

"Whatever Miss, just sign this."

I heard the scribbling of a pen and a snap as it was place back on the clipboard.

"Thank you Miss, but I gotta say, I think you're over your head getting an exotic pet. Good day."

"Wait what?" Aphrodite said.

"Get me out of here!" I hissed.

A face appeared at one of the slits. "Raven?"

"Who else would it be? Now, get me out!"

Darius and Stark tugged and pushed the crate into the suite. They found something to pry the lid off and then I sprang out into the room.

"Huh, freedom!" I stretched out my long back muscles. I looked at all three of them, with all three of them having their mouths dropped in shock. "What?"

"You're a fucking panther!" Aphrodite said.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." I said.

Stark ran his hand through his hair. "Stevie Rae failed to mention you were, well."

Then I saw Zoey. She was incredibly still, deadly still. But my nose told me she was still alive, or her body was anyway.

"Stevie Rae said you astral projected and witnessed Kalona killing Heath."

I nodded. "I'm not sure how I got all the way over here in…however long I was asleep, but I did. I thought maybe I could astral project again and maybe find the pieces of Zoey's soul and guide them back."

"It's worth a shot. We don't have much else." Stark said. His eyes looked a little haunted.

"You might want to touch her." Aphrodite said. I looked at her. "Look, I'm not lesbian or whatever, but when I touched her wrist I got a vision. It might help you and your…astral projecting." She looked at me. "How many different types of powers do you have, animal girl?"

I shrugged. "Half-breed. We probably will never know." I hoped not. I would really like for these new powers to stop popping up and getting me in trouble because I wasn't ready for them and happened to be just the teeniest bit mad.

I really hoped I wouldn't get into any trouble by doing this.

I hopped neatly onto the bed, trying not to disturb Zoey's body. I curled my paws neatly under my chest and then pressed my nose against her neck.

I felt like I was immediately sucked down a long tunnel and then spat out into a woody area. I was disoriented. For one, I didn't realize how much human vision sucked until I became a panther. It made my eyes hurt looking around. Two, I had two feet now and I kinda have gotten use to four and the almost divine balance and grace that came with being a big feline.

"Never thought I would miss being a wild animal." I muttered.

I looked over and saw Zoey and some strange girl. She was really tall and had bright copper red hair. She looked really dangerous.

"Then you truly are broken." I heard the warrior girl say before she disappeared. Zoey then collapsed on the ground and began to sob. Heath stirred and started toward Zoey.

I had done it, I was where wherever Zoey's shattered soul went and where Heath's went. Joy filled my chest. Now I just had to convince Zoey to come back, it couldn't be that hard could it?

"Zoey! Heath!" I called out.

Something exploded in front of me. I jumped back and was staring at…I'm not sure. It looked just like a big black cloud that every now and spat out shapes that, I felt like, where trying to scare me. Tendrils snaked out towards me.

"Raven."

I began trembling when the frickin' cloud said my name! Not okay!

Hands reached out from behind me and yanked me back away from the cloud. I was immediately grateful they had rescued me. When I faced him, I was a little less grateful.

"What are you doing here Raven?" His voice rumbled with anger.

"I'm here to bring Zoey back." I told him. I tried to twist out his grip, but he held me so tightly I felt my shoulders bruising.

"I cannot let you do that Raven."

"Why the hell not?" I spat. "I thought you loved her, how can you let her stay here, shattered?"

His amber eyes darkened in a scary way. "Do not talk about things you do not understand?"

I snorted. "You're right, I don't understand how you can be such a damn hypocrite."

I really, really was expecting him to hit me. His eyes just kept getting darker and more violent looking.

"Go back Raven." He said.

"Not without Zoey." I said stubbornly.

I had a really creepy feeling of something really, really evil boring its sight into my back. I turned and saw the black cloud hovering behind me.

"You won't last here Raven." Kalona said. "You're only half-immortal."

"What does my blood have anything to do with this place?" I said.

"It's too dangerous for you to be here." He tried.

"Then I need to get Zoey the hell out of here." I said.

He breathed harshly through his nose. "I cannot allow you to interfere Raven."

I suddenly saw it. It curled around his neck, biceps, and wrists like chains. They were mostly black, but were stained red. The interlocking symbols made my body tremble.

"What have you done?" I whispered. The symbols looked demonic and really, really evil.

"I have done nothing." He almost spat.

I grabbed his wrist and showed him the chain like symbols on his wrists. "This doesn't look like nothing to me!"

He yanked his wrist out of my grip. "You are going back Raven and if you try to interfere again, then I will not be as lenient with you."

He shoved me away. Darkness surrounded me until I was blinded. A sudden thought struck me, what if he had decided to hand me over to that cloud to make sure that I didn't interfere again?

I tried to struggle, but I was unable to get free. I floated in space, completely vulnerable to anything that came across me.

XOXOXOXOXOX

I apologize for the slight spoilers, I was ranting because I was upset with the cliff hanger. I really don't like cliffhangers, 'cept when I'm writing the story because I know what happens next. Teehee.

Anyway, you know the drill if you read you are required to review or man eating mice will find you and gnaw off all your toes.